representing some 30 el toro votes. by 730, virtually about 100 or a third of the a number you roughly need to be elected president of the united states will have already seen their polls close. to have to tell you, there is a big difference between tabulating and the final polls closing. they have closed, we can project right now that in this state of kentucky, with its eight electoral votes this is probably not a shock. barack obama did not contest the state that aggressively. mitt romney picks up the state of kentucky. first on the electoral board with 84 votes. let's continue here. as we look at indiana, this was a state that barack obama picked up four years ago by the thinnest of margins. but having to add to that red state blew it is back to read tonight. we can estimate when all the votes are in. indiana will tippett's 11

electoral votes to of mitt romney. again, these are largely as expected. in vermont also as expected, barack obama wins the state of vermont. so, again, these are pretty much in line with what had been expected. the gubernatorial race there, hanging on and will likely be governor. there was that threat to challenge that. maybe split tickets along with of vermont line. that is not happening this year. it is not unusual, for example, to have a republican governor and in the case of lombardi sanders, an independent mayor. burlington and now, of course, an independent senator. he will easily win reelection tonight. that was never much in doubt. bernie sanders, practically a rock star in the state of vermont. still very early. we are in no way, shape, or form

able to project averaging is going to go. that is very closely monitored. thirteen electoral votes, a state that had tipped to barack obama four years ago. very close. the poles remain very, very tight. in fact, unbelievably tight. we are not at all comparable saying it will go. in georgia where mitt romney is favored, again, very, very tight . we are not in that position to say the strength that he has in the suburbs translates to the strength that barack obama has certainly in atlanta, for example. mitt romney overt compensate for that. so a lot more to go as we watch. i have mayor rudy guiliani year monitoring these results as well. some of these other states, and where we can't really give results, but no big surprises. two states that he had to win, he did win, that is mitt romney. >> in indiana is a flip. neil: it is a flip. now, viejo is the other foot that he wants. >> i think virginia tells you a

lot about how this that is going to go. neil: let's say he does not carry virginia. >> and not going to be very happy. if he carries it closed it probably means everything else is close. he carries it like more than three or four points, he's probably going to win. i think the viejo will tell you a lot about who's turnout model is correct. the obama people expected when virginia, the romney people expect when virginia. somebody wins a big, they're probably right on the other side. neil: exit polls can be a lot of things, air, but the economy not surprisingly a dominant issue on a lot of folks-. but it depends how they play it. >> i don't give exit polls the slightest bit of -- neil: nodded >> i was losing by six points in the one buy three. neil: would you buy the fact that the economy would be a dominant force? >> in 04i was in this building. john kerry was winning by 86%.

neil: he was putting together his cabinet. >> and 9%. we will find out if the exit polls are right when a couple of states come back and either validate -- neil: some are saying the economy is dominating. not all taking out their wrath of the economy on the president. many still say it is george bush's fault. >> i think we will see. virginia will be a much better test than any of the exit polls. if mitt romney can win virginia by 3 percent for better then republican model is working. if he loses it, well, we are going to need a miracle. if it is really closed and we are going to have a long night, and it may go in to monday -- tomorrow. neil: does say that. i need my beauty sleep. might not do much good, but i need my beauty sleep. florida is another one. that is a battleground state where of late mitt romney has been consistently going well. he has to do well. >> florida is another state. neil: and you have been busy

campaigning. >> floridian more than viejo is a must win. neil: ohio. maybe pennsylvania. >> ohio is important, but if he can take florida and virginia, if romney can take florida and virginia and slips in ohio then colorado, maybe pennsylvania to make up for that. there are ways to do it, but virginia and florida are critical. neil: we always forget, mayor, that there are so many other races going on. thirty-three senate seats. republicans need a net gain of four senate seats. but if they have president romney, three. how likely is that? it will look like a gimme. not so much. neil: i see in early voting that murdoch's ahead. not by much, but still ahead. if murdoch wins, which people are wondering whether he can because of some of the controversial comments -- neil: he was the tea party backed candidate who toppled

richard lugar in indiana. he made some flippant comments. >> and the theory was he was going to -- neil: he was doomed. >> it looks like right now he has a little bit of a lead. see what happens in missouri. neil: well, that race was even going into today. it's possible. >> if eakins and murdoch pull it out, then what the democrats were hoping for, the republicans dropped two seats. neil: you know, i was thinking, and i don't know your thoughts. the republican party abandoned those comments. what is to stop them from saying, well, certainly it won't do republican bidding? >> he is a conservative. neil: in the end bygones will be bygones. >> die-hard conservative, and i think governor romney, looking at what i see in kentucky and indiana, the old republican states, how they're performing, i think romney has a big one in missouri which will help. romney is probably going to do ten, 15 percent when at least in missouri, probably 1015.

neil: to you think there is any other possibility comair, of a split? electoral and popular. it is not unprecedented. happened four times. >> it happened in 2000. almost happened in 2004, and that was a bush big popular vote neil: led by 3 million votes. 118,000 those going the other way. >> actually, 60,000 people flip around. carry the president with a 3 million votes deficit in the popular vote. is it possible? shore. always unlikely. the other thing that is interesting is, you know, you have one guy when the presidency in another guy when the vice presidency if it goes to the electoral college enough time. neil: that's right. >> says we will be rifling through some of these states. we do have, some state sen. kentucky and indiana. neil: as expected and going for

mitt romney. vermont, as expected, going for barack obama. indiana results or at least probably good news for republicans because that was a surprising pickup. that state now back in the red column tonight. again, indiana, kentucky for mitt romney. vermont. these of the only state to keep all right now for barack obama. we should also stress here that we are looking at those 33 senate races. we are looking at 11 gubernatorial races. we are looking in all 435 house seats up for grabs. no less than 42 different referenda going on around the country, including six or legalizing marijuana. i don't know what that says about our economy or times. so many of focused on pot right now. i'm sure for medicinal purposes. mayor, do you look at the -- [laughter] neil: are you surprised? and know who was getting into this in the last hour. benghazi is not showing up on the rare screen?

>> as a tactical choice of the romney campaign not to raise it in the last debate. i am surprised. i felt it was a strong issue. i was out there the last four days in four different states. i have a lot of veterans, to me and tell me how angry they are about it. i had one man in fort lauderdale who fought in the second world war. he was both add pro harbor and in the normandy invasion, and he stood up at the meeting there were having in the synagogue and said, not going to vote for barack obama. i did last time. he has left arm and behind. and everybody started cheering. a few people were crying. it is a deeper issue for the people who really feel it. neil: apparently not enough of them. >> i don't think it ever got above because the romney campaign made the choice not to raise it in that debate. i mean to maybe that was the right or wrong choice. neil: and now you don't put much stock in exit polls. this general finding, the

economy and he takes the blame or credit. when it comes to the bad stuff they are still blaming george bush. [laughter] >> what i make of that is maybe that is why the pot issue is so heavy. [laughter] neil: you have to be smoking pot to blame it on bush four years later. i wish i had thought of that. neil: right underneath a 2 percent fewer people. millard fillmore was to blame. >> you know, that one, it almost seems to me, exit as the president's weakness. three or four years later you're blaming it on the guy you took over for. neil: or smart. a lot of folks are buying it. >> at some point you take accountability. i would think the american people we will hold them accountable if the stands up. neil: so very early. thank you. my pleasure. virginia, that crucial stage here. the big surprise in turn from red to blue. and it is a very tight state.

that state has shifted blue and so many ways with the urban concentration and have democrats have been seizing on that. if mitt romney is tech, all together an electoral vote wind, this is almost a must win state for him, that is assuming that ohio approves next to impossible for him to win. so many scenarios as the mayor was pointing out. a lot more coming up as more states role in. some to close to call. even though the polls are closed, it is probably a good while before we get the results from them. at the top of the our 8:00 when they come in from florida, i get a while before we get results from there and certainly ohio when we get results from there. keep in mind, lawyers are already talking about provisional ballots and now they're counted. one way to avoid any of this legal mess is to win by a bigger margin than can be debated by lawyers. that is the challenge for barack obama and mitt romney tonight, to be beyond the margin of suing

we have a lot more coming up, including lou dobbs and his take on some of the early reads. liz claman at the nasdaq and how the markets are handling this. a big run-up. was that around the rally or the obama rally? what is going on? continue. fox business coverage. readjust begun. get ready. ♪

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♪ neil: all right. you're looking at the nasdaq market's site as we continue our ongoing coverage. we are trying to do and under and over and l.a. goes. fair to say it will the lake. we can tell you right now, polls have closed in states representing some 60 electoral votes. obviously the most important is virginia in this go round. that is simply too close to call. at this juncture and, just a teeny bit of the polls reporting, less than 1%, barack obama has the lead. this might be coming from urban areas, anyone could guess, is about extrapolate too much. we can say that those polls

which closed above 15 minutes to go so far show barack obama leading, but that is a must win for mitt romney if you buy the argument that he has to win back the state's that tipped over from red to blue four years ago. virginia was among them. he did succeed in indiana, which put back to read tonight. kentucky state grad with the governor. in vermont, as expected, still democrat. i think it's always been that way. maybe going back to ronald reagan, maybe one of those elections fox business it. it's as if the reliable democratic state. we have liz claman at the nasdaq to every of what is going on and how people are reacting. >> reporter: well, you were talking about how label gold. times square, we are going to go on forever and ever and ever until the story is told. live at the nasdaq market site command is actually a perfect place to give you a sense of how at least one portion of the market is done. say, for example, the nasdaq.

this is a line. back in 2009 the nasdaq level was around 2,059. has been shopping because the news flow has been such happy. all the way up after today's british civilian rally, nasdaq ended at 3,011. here at the nasdaq you're talking about some 3,326 listed companies, many of them companies whom you of their products and stock. microsoft and apple, yahoo, magic jack. let's get right to the guy who is the magic man. this is bob, the ceo of the nasdaq. great to have you. >> glad to have you here. >> got to love it. >> people descend upon this area because they get a sense here at the nasdaq, the business story of it. you talk to so many business leaders. what has been the number one thing you heard from the nasdaq listed companies? >> by far and away the number one thing that business leaders are concerned about is the deficit. you have to recognize, for every dollar we take in as the u.s.

government for revenue we spend a dollar 50. that cannot continue. you cannot have economic growth when you're spending $0.50 more. neil: people talk about the economy, unemployment, but when you talk about the dead, is the business people to understand the ramifications and the weight of that. >> definitely. today weeare certainly free riding on the fact we are below interest-rate environment. if interest rates were to rise in the debt service would crowd out any investment we could make in education, infrastructure, and our future. we have to really reduce the deficit, cut down the opportunity for interest cost to choke out any other investment we can make. >> people talk about how they want to be able to hire more, but they can't because they don't have the demand for their products except for apple. sales up constantly. apple, and nasdaq listed stock, as is news corporation, but what creates demand? that is a very tricky prospect? >> the chicken and egg argument,

and i think you have to look at the underlying fundamentals. what is that health of the economy? that will determine the demand, and that will determine the supply. the fact is, you have to build this economy on a solid foundation, and i can guarantee you one thing, the economy cannot grow, will not grow over the next four years if we continue to spend, as i say, 50 percent more than the dollars we taken. the business community is going to rally behind that message. it is the number one issue on our agenda. neil: -- >> there are nasdaq listed companies that have done beautifully. the nasdaq over president obama's time has returned 96%. some of the names, we can put them up on the screen. unbelievable returns. i'm thinking of -- well, magic jack. i mean, a big advertiser. be nice. >> a great company. neil: 4,500 percent return over the past four years. 8,500%.

pier one. you could argue that is a discretionary company. people don't have to buy the wicker chairs. you know, how is it you have been a romney supporter. how is it that he can do that much better? what do you think? >> first off, my political views on my own, in announcing u.s. support, but it is important to recognize the difference between the macro environment and the microenvironment. when we talk about the deficit that will crowd out in the macro economic growth. if we have bad economic times and declining employment, declining gdp, you still will have the superstar companies that really have unique innovative products. we are fortunate to have a large number of them listed here on the nasdaq market. i would say, it's always going to be the exceptions will always be there. we have to worry about all the companies and the ability for companies to really have the advantage of having a tail wind as opposed to a head wind.

we have to create a tail wind environment where economic forces are working for these companies. neil: another one that has done well. >> great product. neil: we all have it in our cars. optimistic no matter who wins the heart of capitalism right here at the nasdaq market's. times square out our window. >> i am optimistic. i'm also optimistic that the the congress that will reconvene in 2013 will be more of serious mind and purpose and will look at the fact that we have to actually get things done. we need our policy makers to come up with reasonable policy, and i talk to them on a regular basis. they all recognize that. i think in 2013 you will see progress. >> as optimistic as ever. thank you. ceo of the nasdaq. times square outside our window. it will be taking you out there. we will see you in a minute. neil: don't forget the felafel back. >> and the dumplings.

neil: there you go. nine minutes from three more states closing. north carolina, ohio, a estrogenic. ohio being very closely watched tonight. eighteen electoral votes. we also want to update you. a little more news on vote -- new jersey. because of the storm, hurricane sandy, a lot of people are without power. the governor has allowed an extended e-vote to continue through friday. that does not mean that the state's results are delayed formally, just look at it as rivers provisional balloting. those ballots, those folks are fine. you have to file the port today. adana how you do that, but bottom line file today and you have until friday to get the material and. lou dobbs here on all of this. so far what do you make of it? >> well, when it comes to new jersey, the governor doing the right thing, trying to accommodate hundreds of thousands of people who don't have power, who have been just simply devastated by the start.

and i think at least this is a gesture of accommodation. i think every one of these people would like to have power. like to have water, like to have gasoline. neil: all this time, they are still not. >> this is a disgrace. everyone had a lesson of katrina. for any governor, for any in my judgment, any president, and the mayor not to have an emergency plan to deal with this kind of situation is coming to me, extraordinary. i'm sure we're going to have retrospectives on it, but it is a very difficult situation. neil: in the nor'easter coming. >> and now we have a nor'easter coming. rehearing that it will be less %-the truth of the matter is, until we come to terms of the fact that we have two-thirds of the gas stations in new jersey and new york in this region affected, a lot of people are going to be inconvenienced. meanwhile, in terms of the selection president obama walks out with a photo op with governor christie.

he is selling hard. neil: you came down hard and governor christie. >> well, i think -- you know, i certainly did. i find the governor to be a smart fellow, but i don't find it very interesting to see people make excuses. he said he said thank you. i said he slobbered over the president. and the fact of the matter is, he did. it's going to be interesting as we define these exit polls to see how much of an impact that really did have, that is, hurricane sandy and that photo op. neil: it would not make new jersey a reliably blues state any less blue, but it does call into question how these guys were high fighting each other and back slapping each other for a job well done when obviously the job is not dead. >> a job is not done in new jersey. hundreds of thousands of our fellow citizens are in difficult times right now, inexcusably selling my judgment. and new yorkers as well.

we have got to be able to do better than this and expect more you know, this president has a responsibility to actually move in here. where are the millions of gallons of gasoline that were supposed to be brought into new york and new jersey? where in the world are the responses to polluted water? where are the responses to shortages of gasoline. neil: are you surprised that early exit polls, which could be all over the map, the president is getting high marks post sandy. >> is getting extra their remarks, and he's been how many hours? what was it? think it was born after hours, but that one picture with him and the governor. neil: doing it with him. >> and it is another response. it is going to be interesting to see how this plays out in exit polls, and the result, as you say, a reliable is stay stained blue, but it does not appear that governor christie remained

a reliably republican governor in a blue state. neil: well, he is up for election next year. he is counting things up. >> is going to be interesting. neil: i was hearing your show, and you were surprised. >> you watch it all the time. neil: i do indeed. one of the things that struck me and obviously you, early reads on the mess we are in and all, a lot of folks, a good many, it's bush's fault in its bush's fault. neil: -- >> that is, to me, of the preliminary numbers, that is, to me, the most extraordinary number i have looked at. 525 you know, we are looking at just about an even split between these two. i am one of those -- and i will say it out loud, one of those fools it up that was one of the silliest excuses i have a average. neil: apparently you are in the minority. >> we have.

i'm not the only one. i want to give great credit to a great team fox. bread and catherine. neil: not even on the top five issues. >> this is -- it is demonstrating something. when you have a national liberal media working compulsively on your behalf it is very difficult to break through the noise to the reality. neil: may be on barack obama. >> never put me as a maybe. neil: all right. a lot more tonight. a lot more we are covering tonight. more results coming in from virginia. still way, way, way too close to call. i have a feeling it is going to be a late night. catering going to make everything all set there? all right. more after this. ♪

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neil: all right. in just a few seconds to oppose the north carolina, ohio, west virginia coming to an end. do not expect an instant cult. maybe for some time to come, but we can safely say that west virginia, where the polls are done, mitt romney will win the state of west virginia. let's take a look at the west phrygia's senate race that is going on right now. again, as expected, he has been increasingly over the last year, i would say, very, very critical of barack obama, and he does not always caucus with the democrats call. even though he has a the next to his name, he has oftentimes sided with republicans on key spending issues, emergency relief issues, health care, the kind of things that have now sort of brought him out over

into the republican camp. again, it is not a pickup for republicans. they need for in the senate, three of mitt romney were to become president, and they are not at the state's just yet. jeff flock in columbus, ohio. this is ohio, to close to call. pre-show their names because we did not know if you knew was to. all right. in ohio, what are we looking at? >> well, you know who is to, but you're absolutely right. way too close to call. within the last minute the polls of clothes, and here is what will happen. we are in the state house. you can see everyone assembled to cover this this evening because this could go well into the night. at 7:45 p.m. we will begin to get the first of the votes. these will not be today. these will be the absentee ballot, the early votes, that is about, we think, under 2 million voters, one-third of the electorate. zero precincts reporting and the numbers, but you will begin to

get numbers. that should be more democrats than not. there are people, both democrat and republican operatives it think that once we get that early vote and which will come in between 7:45 p.m. and 8:15 p.m., they will know if obama is far enough ahead that he will be able to carry more of governor romney has a shot. this early vote probably is going to be heavily democratic. if it's heavily, heavily democratic many blows the governor out. if it is close he has a shot at the rest of the state. we will know that, as i said, within 45 minutes. neil: thank you very much. early voting is a big issue in this election, not only in ohio and florida. some parts of this country close to half have already voted early i don't ever remember where that has been such a permeating factor. so many states. it has changed the complexion of this race. >> it is. and this has changed since the 1992. if you go back that far, 7% of

the voting. now it's about 30%. imagine that. early voting amounting to one-third. neil: and ohio. >> that is nationwide, of course. and what we are going to see, as jeff suggested an aisle, it's going to be strongly indicative if indeed the obama campaign were successful in moving, as it did in 2008, that early voting cut into position and get those ballots placed, it is going to be a very difficult climb for the governor to make. neil: to you read anything into the numbers within those numbers? aquino, our guys here have been crunching numbers. we have 230 some odd thousand fewer democrats produce 75,000 more republicans. that makes this statistically significant. >> i think carl is a genius to and i rely on him for that kind of fine mathematical work. neil: at think he has a lot of

time on his hands. >> the fact is, he is an extraordinarily lucky person money causes numbers. neil: you're right. >> and i think charlie here, his view is correct. but what is not clear is what will be the consequences of various other strategies that artwork. and by that i mean, we are looking at a state in which you have changing demographics. you have a changing industrial base. estate that has moved -- is becoming increasingly, year by year, more urban. swamping some old assumptions. the question is will john casey, you know, is incapable of being reelected governor? of the changes that have happened just simply within his turn now, these changes all favorite president obama. neil: so the republican governor who could take credit for them, but the president might be the beneficiary. >> exactly. neil: thank you very much. all right. lou dickens with us right now.

the energy issue that he said would be first and foremost in this race. as he pointed out, certainly beyond early voting, that is a big issue in ohio. it is a big issue in pennsylvania. how do you think that all energy issue factors out in this race tonight? >> well, it has to be a factor because both of those states, ohio and pennsylvania, have become large producing states in the shale. so it will be a factor because there is no question, obama, obama is anti oil and gas in the united states. you love to go with wind and solar. and oil and gas, you are going to be with it probably for another 50 years. so here it will be a factor. thirty-six there are a lot of people who are trying to find some magic to today's run-up in the dow even though it was on low-volume. the energy sector was moving at.

some argued on the belief that mitt romney was going to become president elect tonight. but that those issues are the ones that would do well under romney administration, solar and the was that you alluded to would do well under another four years of barack obama. that is the case, said barack, is reelected tonight. for oil and gas, what do you see happening? >> well, if obama is reelected, did you say? neil: if obama is reelected. >> if he is reelected it will be tough on the industry and tough on the consumer because if you -- if you go and, the epa has been tough on it the industry, which has been expensive for the oil and gas producer. ways expensive for the oil a gas producer, that is going to get passed along to the consumer is the way it works. and so i think romney was tonight, and the industry does well. i think that is what the market

was telling you today. they, too, believe that romney wins. neil: you know, there is a lot of concern out there about just the tone after the election, regardless of who wins. we have this fiscal cliff and everything going on. and that cooler heads after the heated election prevail and get the deal done, but there is not much time to get a deal done, of the sequestration cuts that go into effect the end of the year, the expiration of the bush tax rates that happen at the end of the year. what do you think happens? >> well, your best chance to bring your economy back is on the back of cheap energy. in the united states has the cheapest energy in the world. and each can it -- these candidates have not said that, but that is a true statement. we in the united states have the cheapest energy in the world. now is the time to rebuild the economy on the back of cheap energy. we have done it before, the industrial revolution was done on the back of cheap energy.

so it can happen, and i think it will happen. neil: thank you very much. we will be watching. that is a big issue, one of the five points that mitt romney has to getting jobs back in reinvigorating the energy sector and unshackling it. that is probably a political priority, but that was basically the gist of his message. we will have the home depot co-founder joining us to hear a lot more from our all stars on this. races that are still very, very close, including south carolina just and right now, as expected to my going for mitt romney, no surprises it tonight. still waiting on virginia, a race that is simply too close to call. that in this early hour is a very important race. ohio is another. i think it's safe to say we might give virginia before we get ohio. i also think it's safe to say we will get ohio sometime during lou dobbs tomorrow. we'll have more after this. ♪

♪ neil: welcome back. we are able to take a look get a couple more states. south carolina was the latest. that is not a big surprise.

going to night for mitt romney. all of these that fall in line with the level of expectation. that does not necessarily mean that it is a gimme. kind of with in the level of expectations. still waiting and virginia. very, very tight race. i must win for mitt romney tonight. of course, florida itself, another must win. you always hear that because it is based on polls that show he was leading a lot of the states. you have to win in because ohio could be in doubt. right now in florida it is simply too close to call. another state that he has to win. sandra smith has been paying a good deal of attention to that. how does it look? >> right now, these are the polls that are closing 17 minutes. florida is obviously going to be a key state. if you take a look at the state itself. the results say a lot. you look back at the 2008 election. obviously you saw when from president obama 51 to mccain's

48%. so buy a decent margin, president obama won the state, but you don't have to go back far to the last election when you saw president bush, a republican victory. so this makes florida a key battleground state. one area i want to focus on that is obviously of concern is the economy. net job loss over the past four years. over 86,000. the unemployment rate in the state of florida, well above the national average. now, also the hispanic population is a big focus for this state. over 4 million hispanics in this state of florida. as a% of total population you're looking at 23%. the median annual income of those hispanics just over 20,000, and that is below the poverty line. so this is a key democrat -- demographic we have seen in both canada is focusing on the election. just to show you geographically where they are, primarily in

miami second most, orlando, fort lauderdale, the tampa area. that tampa area really going to be a key focus of this election. as we go back to the closings, also at 8:00, other battleground states, pennsylvania we will be watching for that as well. neil: we should say at 8:00. it shows you how important that our is. 101 electoral votes up for grabs during that hour the florida being the most crucial. do you get a sense that florida is a must win for romney? always a different interpretation on that, but everyone seems to think he has an uphill battle in ohio. he has said pavel together these other ways to compensate. >> well, you can obviously see that it was key by the fact that we saw the republicans hold their convention in the state of florida, that particular to area neil: the hottest smoggiest two days of the century. >> you would know. this was seen as one of the key states, but the fact that if i go back to the results stage, that we have already had some of

the major battleground states close and yet they are still too close to call, obviously a lot of the states that were expected, still too close to call. florida, this is going to be huge. the electoral votes are going to be huge. i bring up the state, that general area of tampa will be a big focus. twenty-nine electoral votes. this is a big piece of the puzzle. neil: and pennsylvania, that could negate beating ohio if mitt romney picks up that state. >> and something of want to point out about pennsylvania as we await the state to close in the polls, philadelphia, inn3 particular, obviously very democratic city, very democratic state. what happened in the last election is that there was a lot of undecided voters in the suburbs of philadelphia. a lot of folks, liberals moving out of the city into the suburbs. they became these undecideds. so president obama really winning by a very narrow margin in the last election.

that is really going to be a key area to watch. neil: thank you very much. so good at that board. we practice this show. if that were me it would be like barney fife. anyway, a good thing it isn't. good thing i have the effects john and with this. bernie, i was talking to our mutual friends, lou dobbs, but some of these early exit poll numbers. i don't want to put too much stock into meticulous, but general themes will come out and start screaming, on the economy, a lot of people still like the president, blamed president bush >> come on. let's get over that. i mean, it's time to move into a new life here. neil: a lot of people feel that way. they do. i wonder if it influences their vote. >> because they can't see past their nose. the truth of the matter is that we look at the last three and a half years, you look at the unemployment, you look at the debt, you look at the ravaging

of businesses in the united states and if you want to blame it -- blame it on clinton, for crying out loud. that is where it goes back to. so that is not the answer. the answer is you have to fess up and take responsibility. this president is not willing to. so that is the way it is. neil: it is remarkable to me that that would still linger. you could argue, your predecessor, but be that as it may, is it your sense that the economy then might not be working as much to mitt romney's advantage? in other words, some people seem to be interpreting -- and it depends on the state, things are getting better even democrats on the has argued they may be getting better. they're not scared. it is a plurality of votes that seem to think that there is better than not better. you know, that is enough to carry the president over the finish line.

>> neil, i think it depends on which channel you're watching. if your watching nbc, then that is what you hear. if you listen to fox then you're really getting the facts. it's just not true. you can play with the numbers all you what. when you have 20 some odd million people out of work you cannot tell me that things are improving. plus, the business community does not see it. we don't see investment. we see tremendous amounts of cash being built up because people are not willing to spread out, open up in other places. and everything boils down to jobs. this president has not gotten the confidence of the business community, and because of that we have all of these people out of work. but let me tell you something worse than that. you have to think about the day after. i think about what happens if obama is reelected. starting tomorrow, every businessman america will wake up and say, now what do i do?

how is he going to handle obamacare? what is he going to do about obamacare? is he going to go to part-time employees instead of full-time? is he going to ever expand or is he going to pull back? is he going to have to fight with the epa? the nlrb? their lives will be of very difficult life. if romney is elected tonight, well, you can see there will be smiles all of the business community. those smiles we will work into business, into jobs for america. you're going to see people. i will tell you, over the next three, four, five months from a from the is elected you will see that job picture changed dramatically because the attitude of people is going to change dramatically. recede is everywhere we go and speak to business people. they're waiting. and so tomorrow it is really going to depend on what happens tonight. on what happens with the future tomorrow. we can look forward to another four years.

that will be a very good for years if obama is reelected. neil: but let's which, if you don't mind, the wall street. and you generally don't focus on stock prices, but you could argue that a romney wind could jar wall street in this respect. very critical of the federal reserve and other quantitative easing. already said that he certainly would not reappoint bin bernanke. so for a market that has sort of gotten fixed on getting fixes, the fixes and. it's over. it's done. that punchball will go away. in at $0.6 could it hurt the market committee for its own good. >> i don't think so. i think that when you look at the market, it is a reflection of what is going to happen in the real world, i don't know that today split, the fact that the stock price went up, that the market went up, i don't think that has anything to do with anything. i think that tomorrow you will see things changed. look, everybody understands that

we have a situation today with a tremendous debt. we cannot keep borrowing. we cannot keep the interest rates for the treasury bonds at where they are. somewhere it is going to have to change, and i think that the change may come in the very short time, not be too comfortable for a lot of people. but ultimately if we don't do this the future does not look very good. i think that romney is the type of guy, very, very stable kind of guy, good businessman, has a good head on his shoulders. he understands business. he understands creating something, and i think that he is going to have a group of people surrounding him, unlike this president, this guy had not surrounded himself with people that i believe are competent. i think that the best cut people will be surrounding romney, giving him the kind of advice, but he understands the advice, unlike the community organizer who really, i mean, given advice, he doesn't know because

he never did it and does not have a clue. here is a man has run businesses he understands businesses. he will surround himself with the right kind of people, and another will make the right kind of decisions. decisions in many cases are going to be for the benefit of this country. neil: we shall see. >> we will wait and see. i will watch tonight. neil: excellent. co-founder of home depot. he is not at all handy, which tells you a great deal about how brilliant diaz. thank you very, very much. speaking there. of course georgia coming in as expected ultimately for mitt romney. but romney picks up the state of georgia. we cannot show you this. we aae switching to virginia race too close to call, but we can tell you that eric cantor, the house majority leader, has been safely reelected, congressman, from his district. he was facing a fight from a pretty stubborn democratic opponent, but in the end eric cantor, as expected, maintains

his congressional seat. no matter who wins tonight he will be a power player in washington going forward. in virginia this is the race. way too early to call with 8 percent of the vote, but mitt romney has the lead. this is a crucial state. we are also hearing this from those on the ground in ohio, including jeff flock that among the early votes, and keep in mind, that is all the accounting, 30, 30 percent of the vote. it said that is what they tabulate. that is going prohibitively to barack obama, as expected. mitt romney, of course, to contain an early dose of that he could make up in day of voting. a lot more as we continue our around-the-clock, around the calendar, and around everything coverage. all that on the impact of a race where some crucial polls about minutes away including

pennsylvania and new jersey and massachusetts and maine nd florida, and illinois. i could go on and on. 101 electoral votes in the next rollover. ♪ everyone has goals. takehe steps to reach yours, with us with real advice, for real goals. the us bank wealth management advisor can help you. every step of the way. from big steps, to little steps. since 1863 we've helped guide our clients, so they can take the steps to help grow, preserve, and pass along their wealth. so their footsteps can help the next generation find their own path. all of us serving you. us bank

neil: welcome back, it's still too close, virginia too close, ohio soon. will be hard to call for maybe hours to come, sheryl is keeping an eye on the so-called battleground states. they will decide, who becomes next president of the united states, sheryl? >> these polls, in battle ground states virginia and ohio were closed in the last hour, but

what did voters say as they walked out of the booth in the states. first virginia between electoral votes up for grab, a high number of governor workers in virginia, it could play badly for governor romney. we asked what they think about role of 46% of those polled said that government should be doing more, get more involved in their lives, 50% said that government does too much. now turn to buckeye state, ohio, polls have just closed. about 30 minutes ago. not a single republican candidate has won white house without winning ohio. we focus on ohio voters who have a negative view of u.s. economy, this is how they casted 35% going to to president obama. 63% -- look at this 63% of those saying they voted for mitt romney. when they were in the booths,

another big fiery top imin state of ohio, bailout of the auto industry, that industry, responsible for one in eight jobs in ohio, this is what voters who supported bailout, supported bailout 75% of those who supported it, they voted for president obama, maybe not a big surprise, 24 personally 24%, voted for governor romney. now that is all we have for now, all these numbers are coming in fast, they are changing by the moment, we're looking at them, we're going to bring you many more exit polls. neil: you know sheryl that is fascinating, auto bailout thing. that was the achille's hill for mitt romney, his opposition to it, said it should be a structured bankruptcy, which in the end it became. but the added asterisk is that tax players fooded the bill for -- footed the bill for that

bankruptcy. that was never sold, so, that could be a deal breaker for mitt romney. >> 13% of workers in that state are union workers. another big topic for them. neil: thank you sheryl, don't leave. alan, i have to tell you, no one has a better read, of business polls than alan former jc penny chairman. of you have seen tonight, and of exit polls, i go for general themes, and one is on the economy. the had a tough nut when he came in, but still the other guy who is at fault. >> it is surprising. i think that you know you think of this has been worse recovery of any recession we of. since the depression